TRAPPER STAMPEDE KICKS OFF SEASON

Teams from around the Big Sky Region flocked to Powell on Friday and Saturday to kick off the fall college rodeo season with the Trapper Stampede.

Logan Smith hangs off the side of his horse on his way to finish his tie down roping run. Smith leads the Big Sky Region standings after the first weekend of competition.
TRIBUNE PHOTO BY CARLA WENSKY — Logan Smith hangs off the side of his horse on his way to finish his tie down roping run. Smith leads the Big Sky Region standings after the first weekend of competition. TRIBUNE PHOTO BY CARLA WENSKY

September 15, 2022

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Teams from around the Big Sky Region flocked to Powell on Friday and Saturday to kick off the fall college rodeo season with the Trapper Stampede.

"The rodeo went very well," Northwest College rodeo coach Del Nose said. "It went off without a hitch, and had two good days of rodeo. A little bit of moisture the first day but we got through it."

Logan Smith was the highest placer for the Trappers on the day, coming in second for tie down roping with a time of 11.3.

Ryley Bice was the other placer for the Trappers, placing eighth in the breakaway roping as she finished in 3.6 seconds.

Bice sits 15th in the Big Sky Region overall standings after her finish.

Overall on the first day the Trappers finished in sixth for the men with 126 points and the women's team placed fifth with 13 points.

"We did not have a good first rodeo," Nose said. "We had a good rodeo on performances, had some calves get up and some broken barriers and we kind of got stifled there."

The Trappers showed improvement on the second day, coming in third as a team on the men's side with 359 points.

The duo of Gunner Plenty and Mason Trollinger ended up in a three-way tie for first place in the team roping — finishing in 8.3 seconds with Plenty as the header and Trollinger as the heeler.

The pair currently sits in a tie for third in the Big Sky.

Smith had another strong day as he secured third in the tie down roping, finishing in 11.4 seconds.

He currently leads the Big Sky with 233 points, ahead of second place with 158 points.

DeEtte Powell was the final placer for the Trappers, finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the goat tying with a 9.9 second run.

She sits in a tie for eighth in the region standings.

Following the Trapper Stampede, Northwest will head out for the next rodeo this weekend in Glendive to take part in the Dawson Community College rodeo.

Nose said that he is expecting rapid improvement from his side heading into the second of a short four weekend season.

"We can be a force if things go right," Nose said. "We have some really good talent. I have been on these kids since Monday to step up to the plate this coming weekend."